Damn! The rabbit didn’t die, it ran away!…

Posted on April 1, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“He bids fair to grow wise who has discovered that he is not so.”

~~ Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 598 ~~

Four-day old calf with Mama

Image by Fabrice Guerin – Barcroft Media

National Geographic Award Winner

It seems my new routine includes more sleep; this is certainly welcome, but, complicates the routine, to fit it into a schedule two hours later than previously used. Ah, well, so much for consistency; it isn’t good to maintain TOO much of it, lest one become hidebound, and lose the flexibility of mind which leads to a more successful approach to living, than confining oneself to a single frame of reference…

There, is that esoteric enough for y’all? I thought I’d try something a bit different, but, I’m not sure it’ll work more than once. Oh, well, such is life in the blogging world. Events in the BBR kept me busy yesterday, right up to this morning’s late starting time, so, I didn’t get much of this done ahead of time. That’s okay, I’m getting pretty good at cheating, sad to say. It certainly is handy, though. I wonder why I never thought of it before? Probably something to do with how my dad would fry my butt if I made a habit of it. He’d allow such abrogation of duty once, for good reason, but, twice, to him, indicated a burgeoning pattern, and he’d soon inform us of the error of our ways….

Nonetheless, it will get us to where we want to be, and leave me with clean hands, for the most part. You may want to tighten your shoelaces, and your safety belts. The new, ruthless methods I’ve decided to adopt here in the intro have been causing a bit of consternation amongst the guests, so I’m giving fair warning…. In fact, y’all should do it NOW, because we going in, NOW….

Shall we Pearl?

“The high-spirited man may indeed die, but he will not stoop to meanness. Fire, though it may be quenched, will not become cool.” — The Hitopadesa (600?-1100? A.D.)

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For this morning, a little blues, I think…. Here is a joint studio session with two of the very best blues guitarists who ever lived. Stevie is gone, but, Albert remains…. Enjoy, ffolkes…..

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Albert King & Stevie Ray Vaughan — In Session 2010 1983

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https://youtu.be/gZB57b3lPQE

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Image stolen from Talesfromtheconspiratum.com

He won’t mind…

“Nothing’s ever really changed. What difference does it make whether it’s the Corporate state or the Nation state? In our struggle for freedom we still find ourselves fighting the state.” — Jay Terpstra

I think this is a great pearl upon which to base a rant. Unfortunately, I have neither the time, nor, currently, the inclination to create a fresh one. So, here’s one that should fit from the archives…. Enjoy!….

From 3/12/2012, amended 3/28/2013:

“I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.” — Will Rogers

I was going to use this as a springboard for another rant on our beloved ruling class….. But, the more I thought about it, the longer it percolated in my brain, the sadder I grew….

I used to feel a lot of love for my country, if for nothing else, because of the dream of liberty and human empowerment that our system of government was envisioned, and intended, to create, and maintain. The founding fathers had a vision, of a country where every man and woman had the same opportunities, to live their lives as they chose, as every other person, without censure, and without the fear of being persecuted for their beliefs, no matter how different they were from everyone else’s. A dream of a place where children could grow up without the fear of hunger, or abuse, or death from the skies. A place where a man, or a woman, was respected for just being human, without having to prove their worth to some ignorant asshole who is afraid of any color skin but their own.

Instead, we live in a society whose diverse segments have an extreme, and sadly justified, mistrust of each other, where the rich and powerful, instead of uplifting their fellow man, use their influence and wealth to divide and discriminate, always with the intention of keeping the less fortunate in a powerless state, too downtrodden to even hope for better.

We live in a society that ignores its elderly, and abuses its children; a society where people are starving amidst mountains of food. We have a produced a culture that glorifies war, and sees peaceful coexistence as weakness; a culture where it is a crime for a man to kill another for honor, but is praised for being part of an army of professional killers. This country has reached the sad point in its history where the twin concepts of honor and duty have been supplanted as the basis of our national character, replaced by the glaring presence of avarice, false entitlement, and expediency.

Yes, I am saddened by Will’s joke, because it cuts far too close to reality, and home…..

From today, 3/28/2014:

“They scream into my ears,
But what they say will only make me deaf.”

— Claus Larsen
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“It’s hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.” — Calvin, Bill Watterson’s Calvin & Hobbes

Jimmy Swaggert, and the other 5 or 6 televangelists who regularly get caught literally with their pants down come immediately to mind for a list of potential recipients of divine extermination intervention…….

Newt Gingrich, along with a large number of his cohorts in Congress, obviously, for congenital lying, and excessive sliminess….

Rick Santorum, because I can’t imagine an entity as smart as God is reputed to be to let this ….. person…. (I believe using the word “person” is being kind, but, we’ll give the benefit of doubt for the time being, for expedience… See, even I fall prey to that failure of ethics…), well, I don’t think He will let him speak in his Name for long, not without exacting some price….. (I’ve heard that divine price-tag can be a bit heavy….)….

Twitt Romney, that elitist asshole…..

…. and, finally, as Yul Brynner stated so beautifully in his only attempt to sing on film: “Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera…..” to which I would add, “and a cast of thousands, ad nauseam infinitum…..”

I suppose it also says something less than admirable about the media to note, much, even MOST of the crap to which we are exposed, by the members of the (supposed) fifth column, consists, in the main, of reports on the activities of the LEAST admirable examples of our species, who, unfortunately, are the ones who make for salable news…. These newsworthy individuals provide the material that will pay for the advertising costs, so the shadowy corporate masters are satisfied that we will hear about the latest, greatest new products, each of which fills some previously unknown manufactured need.

The most lucrative subject matter, the stories that sell the most papers, or comprises the material for the most successful TV shows, as it turns out, is an endless variety of dramatic fantasy, describing in intimate detail, all of the stupidest, most egregious examples of the insane antics of a seemingly limitless number of the WORST of humanity…. Loud, perverted, fanatic religious zealots (aka preachers….), unprosecuted criminals wearing power suits and ties, (aka politicians….), and a parade of sports and entertainment figures with an average IQ of 77 (actors, actresses, ball players, and police myrmidons)…. These are the current examples of “famous celebrities” we are supposed to fawn over, to use as our idols for emulation…. at least, if we are to believe what we see on the TV (total vacuum)….

I often feel a sense of despair after reading the news…. fortunately, I have WordPress to alleviate any dangerous build-up of bile….. but, all-too-often, it sure makes me wish for a few well-placed bolts of lightning to provide some comic relief, at least…..

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From today, 3/28/2014:

“Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable.” — Plato (428-348? B.C.)

Well, that was certainly confusing, eh? Maybe, just maybe, evolution is a good thing…. ya think?….

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From today, 4/1/2015: Well, that was fun. I think. Let’s go on, shall we?….

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I’ve taken the time, late as I am, to find a poem by someone else, appropriate to the day, just cuz I’m a nice guy….

A Caution To Everybody

Consider the auk;

Becoming extinct because he forgot how to fly, and could only walk.

Consider man, who may well become extinct

Because he forgot how to walk and learned how to fly before he thinked.

~~ Ogden Nash ~~

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Lao Tzu

Today’s old-school pearl is one I like to call an advice pearl. It speaks in general ways about how we can live, if we wish to live in peace, in connection to the world, and others, and, how to look at the world with eyes that see clearly…. In short, how to live a life well-lived…. by anyone’s standards….

“It is by not always thinking of yourself, if you can manage it, that you might somehow be happy. Until you make room in your life for someone as important to you as yourself, you will always be searching and lost …” — Spoken by Leslie Parrish, The Bridge Across Forever, by Richard Bach

“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.” — Mark Twain

“If you can see a thing whole… it seems that it’s always beautiful. Planets, lives…But close up, a world’s all dirt and rocks. And day to day, life’s a hard job, you get tired, you lose the pattern. You need distance, interval. The way to see how beautiful the earth is, is to see it as the moon. The way to see how beautiful a life is, is to see it from the vantage point of death.” — Ursula K. Le Guin, Dispossessed

“Stupidity, like virtue, is its own reward.” — William E. Davidsen

“And stand together yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.” — Kahlil Gibran, “The Prophet”

“Nobody can have the soul of me. My mother has had if, and nobody can have it again. Nobody can come into my very self again, and breathe me like an atmosphere.” — D. H. Lawrence

“Be not diverted from your duty by any idle reflections the silly world may make upon you, for their censures are not in your power, and consequently should not be any part of your concern.” — Epictetus

“Go into yourself and see how deep the place is from which your life flows.” — Rainer Maria Rilke in Letters to a Young Poet

“As for courage and will – we cannot measure how much of each lies within us, we can only trust there will be sufficient to carry through trials which may lie ahead.” — Andre Norton

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You may see me tonight with an illegal smile.
It don’t cost very much, but it lasts a long while.
Won’t you please tell the man I didn’t hurt anyone.
No, I’m just trying to have me some fun.

~~ John Prine ~~

Well, there you have it. Another fine Pearl of Virtual Wisdom, brought to you today by the number 61, and the letter Q. Don’t ask. Now that I’ve fulfilled the regulations set upon us by the gods of blogging, such as they are, I’m outta here. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, as long as nobody catches me…

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Mmm…… Lizard gizzards in aspic!….

Posted on March 30, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Distrust interested advice.”

~~ Aesop ~~

Artist’s rendition of Mars One Habitat Hydroponic Farm

Image from Space.com

Having been up for almost an hour already, I am unusually alert and rational to begin. Nonetheless, here I sit, as I have for the last ten minutes, wondering what the hell to put in the huge, blank white space in front of me. It’s a scary sight, believe me, when my mind is as blank as the screen, but, with less definition to the blankness…. It kinda makes me wonder just what the hell I think I’m doing here. Even when I rant, with the most accurate, up-to-date information, and tellingly real indictments of real people, it doesn’t feel as if anyone who needs to hear it is listening….

Ah well, lack of readership isn’t any big deal for me; I don’t write for anyone else. But, it is nice to think that what I say isn’t completely wasted, in terms of effectiveness; we all like to make ourselves felt in this world, hopefully making it a better place. But, in today’s world, almost everyone alive, other than the monied elite, hasn’t the time to spare from the daily demands upon them to think about how enslaved they are; it’s not an easy thing to think about, anyway, so, most people never even try….

As a result, we have the world we live in, which does its very best to keep each and every one of us under the complete domination of a small group of psychopathic money grubbers, who believe in nothing but themselves, and their own desires. What more proof do you need, than to just look around, and see that 99.999% of the entire human race is too busy to even think about their own slavery? How many people out there in the great unwashed masses even knows they haven’t a single one of the freedoms our forefathers tried to secure for us? I’d say the number five would be about right…..

And, sadly, even those five don’t have the time to do anything about it, other than shrug and get back to work so they can eat tonight….

Having thus completely ruined a perfectly fine intro with a mini-rant, I think it would be best to just go on, & see if I can’t find a bit of inspiration by picking a video for today; maybe it will help me find a reason to keep going, other than the primary goal of maintaining a grasp of reality that won’t hurt anyone, except, perhaps, me…. SIGH….

I meant to tell you; I have a new method for getting past this sort of issue. Here’s how it works…..

Shall we Pearl?

“Human language is like a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to, when all the time we are longing to move the stars to pity.” — Gustave Flaubert

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Image from Smithsonian Folkways via Google Stock Images

To sublimate the urge to rant today, as well as provide some musical counterpoint to your reading, here is one of the twentieth century’s most influential musicians, whose work and life were a throwback to the days of the troubadours in the Middle Ages, when music and songs carried the most powerful political messages from place to place…. It was not for nothing the court jesters of the time were considered the most dangerous courtiers of all who served the Kings…. Woody had his faults, like anyone, but, his music told the story of his time like nobody else…. Enjoy!….

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Woody Guthrie Library of Congress Recordings Pt.1

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https://youtu.be/dUiVRIuCOCY

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“It is only logical that the pauperization of our soul and of the soul of society coincides with the pauperization of the environment. One is the cause and the reflection of the other.” — Paolo Soleri

It may confuse you a bit to see the picture I use to grace the ass-end of these Pearls at the top of this section…. That’s okay, it’s supposed to do that, so, I win….

Today’s ranting section is to be devoted to a very simple lesson….First, assume the attitude expressed by Dozer, the bulldog…. Having achieved that state, keep the above quote in mind, as you think for a moment about the state of our world today, noting how accurate a picture of reality it paints…. Then, read the following Rules…. You may note that almost every problem we have in our world today can be directly attributed to the failure of some man to follow these rules…. It’s that simple, and the fix is just as simple…. Unfortunately, it can’t be applied, as each man must make his own choice to follow these rules, and there are too many who refuse, out of their own sickness of spirit….

Think about it; if just HALF the men in the world followed these rules, what sort of world would it be? I’d bet, a better one…. You tell me….

“My greatest fear in life is that no-one will remember me after I’m dead.”

~~ Anonymous ~~

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Image from Google Stock Images

I’m up early enough to search, so, you get a bonus today…. no poem from me…. Instead, we’ll go with someone known for their brilliance in this respect…. I hope you enjoy it, right before it chokes you…. just kidding! Us poets can be a bit emotionally unstable, y’know?….. This one was, but, hey, what’s a bit of psychosis between friends?….

Witch Burning

In the marketplace they are piling the dry sticks.
A thicket of shadows is a poor coat. I inhabit
The wax image of myself, a doll’s body.
Sickness begins here: I am the dartboard for witches.
Only the devil can eat the devil out.
In the month of red leaves I climb to a bed of fire.

It is easy to blame the dark: the mouth of a door,
The cellar’s belly. They’ve blown my sparkler out.
A black-sharded lady keeps me in parrot cage.
What large eyes the dead have!
I am intimate with a hairy spirit.
Smoke wheels from the beak of this empty jar.

If I am a little one, I can do no harm.
If I don’t move about, I’ll knock nothing over. So I said,
Sitting under a potlid, tiny and inert as a rice grain.
They are turning the burners up, ring after ring.
We are full of starch, my small white fellows. We grow.
It hurts at first. The red tongues will teach the truth.

Mother of beetles, only unclench your hand:
I’ll fly through the candle’s mouth like a singeless moth.
Give me back my shape. I am ready to construe the days
I coupled with dust in the shadow of a stone.
My ankles brighten. Brightness ascends my thighs.
I am lost, I am lost, in the robes of all this light.

~~ Sylvia Plath ~~

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“If you are out of trouble, watch for danger.”

~~ Sophocles ~~

I guess, somewhere deep inside, I always knew I’d find proof of Murphy’s existence in other cultures; now, I’m sure. The quote at the start of this section, from Sophocles, to my mind, is absolute proof of this. I’d bet, if we had someone who actually spoke ancient Greek, we’d find the actual translation of his words were a direct match of the lyrics from the old Grateful Dead song, “Uncle John’s Band”, to wit: “…. and, when life looks like easy street, there is danger at your door.”

In celebration, I’ve put Smart Bee at work to dig up some appropriate pearls to go with the idea of a deeper knowledge of the powers of Chaos and Entropy, and their Earthly manifestation, Murphy himself…. I’m not entirely sure about the results, but, hey, I’m the one who set it loose without supervision…. Here is what SB came up with; be careful, it’s a bit strange…..

“Ignorance can be cured, but, stupid lasts forever.” — Aristophanes

“If you pray hard enough, water will run uphill. How hard? Why, hard enough to make water run uphill, of course!” — Robert Heinlein

“Should I do my BOBBIE VINTON medley?’ — Zippy the Pinhead

“If It doesn’t matter, and what if it did?” — Smart Bee

“How can I tell…that the past isn’t a fiction designed to account for the discrepancy between my immediate physical sensations and my state of mind?” — Douglas Adams, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”

“Ah, Louie, Louie….oh…me gotta go!!” — The Kingsmen

“I like smoke and lightning, heavy-metal thunder; racing with the wind, and the feeling that I’m under.” — Steppenwolf

“Dying is a wild night and a new road.” — Emily Dickinson

“Will I dream?” — HAL-9000

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Well, I’ve done it. As is normal for me, I’m not entirely sure exactly WHAT I’ve done, but, I do know it’s done, and, right now, right here, that’s all that matters…. Okay, so, it’s not ALL that matters; it’s all that matters to me, and, now, to you…. until you decide to go do something else. This might be a good time for that, as I’m outta here. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Bowled over by a Boston Brahmin….

Posted on March 29, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Reality is not a constant.”

~~ Smart Bee ~~

Image from Space.com Pictures of the Day, 3/23/2015

“Nobody knows the troubles I’ve seen…” Imagine you’re hearing that on the radio, standing in the shower, thinking about the past…. Then, imagine, for just a moment, you are not naked. What the hell are you doing in the shower fully clothed? Are you nuts? What possessed you to…. Oh, never mind…..

Howdy, ffolkes. As might be noted, I’m a bit under the weather, or, is that over the top? Probably the latter. Nevertheless, this still must get done; hence, the nonsensical BS in the opening paragraph, such as it is. I have little clue as to why that popped out, actually. It just seemed to want to be a part of today’s mess, though goodness knows why. It’s bad enough for us, who HAVE to do this, or go mad; choosing to do so isn’t what I’d call showing the best sense. But, then, what can one expect from a completely imaginary figment of my imagination, but for nonsense…..

I’m late again, of course; that’s why I can’t seem to find anything to talk about here. It’s all screwed up…. or, I suppose it would be more accurate to say I have once more screwed it all up. Such incompetence isn’t my natural milieu, I swear. I used to be considered a fairly competent person, back in the day…. I guess we all fall into that hole when we get to a certain age; it sure doesn’t help to know that, I’ll tell you for sure. It does, however, offer an excuse, and, maybe, if we’re bold enough, it will get us out of this seemingly endless display of idiocy….

You may be asking yourself WHY you made the decision to stop in, today of all days, when I can’t seem to find my way out of the intro. Go ahead, ask…. it doesn’t matter, because I can’t tell you. I’m having enough trouble hooking up this emergency kit, which, if I don’t get done in the next 20 seconds, won’t work at all…. There! Got it…. Okay, ffolkes, I’ll have to ask y’all to return to your seats now. This particular little method for getting us down the page is a little rough; oh, hell, I’ll be honest. It’s a fucking disaster, but, it works. Just close your eyes, (or, put on the masks provided in your seat back in front….), hold on to your neighbor’s hand, and pray!….. We’re goin’ in……

Shall we Pearl?

“It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Image from http://www.shoutout.com via Google stock images

It’s time for another blast from my past…. This man needs no introduction; simply, the most talented guitarist who ever lived…. Had he lived longer, the entire world would have known his name, forever. As it is, his early work remains some of the strongest, most brilliant pieces of impromptu, innovative brilliance ever heard on the guitar; the like will never be heard again…. Ladies and gentle ffolk, I give you Jimi Hendrix…..

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The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Purple Haze

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https://youtu.be/pjWfxhEfM6U

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Ffolkes….. I first wrote this ode shortly before Noah’s passing, in 2011, posting it online at some pet-oriented website by Triond, an online posting brokerage for bloggers, or other authors wishing to post anything online… I have used it here on WP a couple times, correcting typos here and there as I find them. This time, I’ve gone through to polish up the style and errors of syntax, grammar, or just plain dumbass non-professional writer mistakes which I’ve learned to avoid, or edit. It should have more impact, and be easier to read; I hope you enjoy it. I loved this dog as much as any I’ve had in my life, if not more; he was indeed my best friend for a long time….

Noah Dog, 1994 ~ 2011

“We give them the love we can spare, the time we can spare. In return dogs have given us their absolute all. It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made.” — Roger Caras, “A Celebration of Dogs”

An Ode to Noah

Noah came to live with us when he was about 10 months old; we rescued him from taking the long walk at the Humane Society kennel in Santa Rosa. It was my son’s fifteenth birthday; he wanted a dog, swearing up & down he would take responsibility for its’ care. Pets were always part of family life when I grew up, a policy I’d followed in my own; our last dog had been gone for a bit over a year, so it was time to expand the family once again.

As the door opened into the kennel where the dogs were held for viewing, a large variety of dogs started a welcoming cacophony of different barks; shrill tiny ones, deep booming ones, polite yips, all blended together in an almost desperate frenzied concert, as each animal, many of them almost frantic, tried to get our attention. Some pawed at the gate, some jumped up, some looked nervous, others looked friendly, and all of them, it seemed, were making noise.

When we drew near the last cage in the aisle, we saw a medium-sized, sad-eyed, black and white dog, not barking, not jumping, just sitting down, leaning against the wall by the gate. He was looking me right in the eyes, with an expression on his face that just said, “Get me out of here, please!”. What could we do? He was obviously our dog, so, we told him we’d be right back, then, went back out to the office to announce our choice, & complete the paperwork.

The attendant brought Noah in to us just as I finished. He looked a bit nervous, but, looked around with a curious, calm eye. That is, he was calm until I clasped his new collar around his neck, then hooked on his leash. All of a sudden, he realized he wasn’t going back into the kennel; instantly, he was a new dog, wagging his tail furiously, looking at us with his eyes shining, almost dancing and vibrating in his eagerness to go. As we walked back to the van, he walked proudly in front of us, looking back every few steps to make sure we were still there, tail and ears up, a very happy dog…..

Noah settled into the family immediately. He proved to be very well-mannered, both with people, as well as in his personal habits. When on walks, he would stop to sniff, and lift his leg, on every interesting bush and tree, just like any other male dog. But, when he had to do his secondary business, he made it clear he preferred to go behind a bush, or somewhere out of the way, preferably out of sight.

He’d assume a very embarrassed expression when not sufficiently hidden from sight, turning away, refusing to look up, as if he felt guilty. A very private, discreet individual, to say the least. If he had been overlong between walks, so much in a hurry he made a mistake on the sidewalk, he would act just like a cat, refusing to even look at it, pretending it had not happened. “What mess? Who, me? I don’t know what you’re talking about. C’mon, let’s GO….”

Noah was an extremely intelligent dog. I can say that, as I’ve known a great many animals in my time on this old planet; he was one of the smartest I’ve ever been around, in spite of very minimal formal training. When he came to live with us, he already knew how to sit on command (both voice and hand), to lie down, and to stay. All without needing to be reinforced, I might add….

Well, in truth, he did have a little bit (actually, a LOT) of trouble with the whole concept of stay; he didn’t like being left alone, I guess. When told to stay somewhere out in public, he would often follow after a minute or two; it’s like he just didn’t want to believe we really MEANT for him to stay. He figured he should be with us so he could do his job. As long as he could see us, he’d stay where he was; if he couldn’t, he believed it was his place to find us; in his whole life, we just couldn’t come to terms about it; on this point he was firm.

We also never had to teach Noah any tricks, as he seemed to have figured stuff out on his own, & his way was definitely cool…. The first time I ever gave him a treat (a milk bone), I showed it to him, told him to sit. He sat. I told him to speak; he gave one quick, obviously joyous howl. I held out my hand, & he offered his own to shake. I straightened up, tossed the treat in the air, for him to catch….

I then watched him not merely catch the darn thing, but, after making the in-air snag, he tossed it back up into the air. With a gleefully joyful expression, he watched it hit the floor, whereupon he dove on top of it, rolled over on his back on top of it, & began to perform a happy dance, by twisting his back and hips as if scratching his back on the floor. I swear, he looked just like Snoopy doing the Dance of Joy. When he was done dancing on his back, he rolled over, with a smug smile, proceeding to enjoy his milk bone, with a big twinkle in his eye. I always wanted to video the move to submit it for Stupid Pet Tricks on the Letterman Show, but never had a camera handy when he performed his feat, so Noah missed his chance for stardom.

Noah’s gotten old now; we just observed his 17th birthday in February of this year; in dog years, he’s going on 120 or so. He can’t hear anything but very loud noises, can’t see more than a few feet; I suspect all he sees now is mostly shadows and moving light. I’m afraid he will be passing on soon, as he can no longer get up without assistance, or fully control his bodily functions. I sometimes feel like I should have him put down, to ease his pains, but he doesn’t act as if he is hurting, and I can tell he enjoys just lying around, dozing, as long as he knows I am near.

For his entire life with us, over 17 years, Noah has been a true and loyal companion. He has observed, with honor, the pact made between man and dog, many thousands of generations ago. Thus, taking care of him in his declining years is both a privilege, and an honor. In my entire life, I have never known anyone more loyal, human, or animal, more compassionate, or more courageous in standing up to life. He is by far the best friend that any man could hope for; what’s more, he is, by far, the best person I’ve ever known……

Rest in peace, my old friend….

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Image from Google Stock Images

Today, it is only one of mine, simply because I’m so late I didn’t have time to go look for anyone else’s…. Since I have not ranted in DAYS, this one should sublimate for me a bit….

gigoid’s lament

Not a bit of all the pain I feel
is worse than all I see;
all worldly truth, solid and real,
has faded away, never to be free.

Honor stripped of all regard,
while compassion simply fails;
Ignorance , powerful, hard,
crows as reason wails.

Crushing resistance, mandating the vote,
selling illusion, smiling all the while.
Pundits, speaking purely by rote,
arrange all the lies in a tidy pile.

Stupidity ’tis said, is a risky choice;
the price is always the same.
Reality has no pity, no warning ever voiced,
only a gravestone, carved with, our name.
~~ gigoid ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ffolkes…. the following old school pearl is damn near perfect. I say so only because there is nothing about it I can find to indicate it is anything LESS than perfect…. Ergo, it would be a good idea for y’all to pay close attention, and use all of your reasoning abilities, both inductive, and deductive, to form the intended conclusion(s)…. There… if that wasn’t obscure enough, or confounding enough, well, I can try again…. No, okay, here you go; pay heed, this will definitely be on the Quiz we all must take to exit this life…..

What’s madness but nobility of soul
At odds with circumstance?

~~ Theodore Roethke, “In a Dark Time” ~~

“If it had been a bear it would have bit you.” — Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) — Polite Conversation, Dialogue i

“The devil does not stay where the music is.” — Smart Bee

“It’s a poor sort of memory that only works backwards,” the Queen remarked.” — Lewis Carroll, “Through the Looking-Glass”

“Each of us visits this Earth involuntarily, and without an invitation. For me, it is enough to wonder at the secrets.” — Albert Einstein

“I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together!” — (The Beatles) I Am The Walrus

“Anything that kills you makes you…well, dead.” — Very, very Smart Bee

“Sure, understanding today’s complex world of the future is a little like having bees live in your head. But there they are . . .” — The Firesign Theater, “I Think We’re All Bozos on This Bus!”

All things must change
to something new, to something strange.~~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s done; not without a struggle, but, done nonetheless. (I will say, this vertigo crap is getting old, fast.) In fact, so done, I’m already gone…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Riding a busted flush….

Posted on March 27, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Speak out. You’ve got to speak out against the madness.”

~~ Steven Stills ~~

Tony the Pixie Bob

Apparently, two days off is too many; I can’t seem to find my routine. Naturally, I’m enjoying getting some actual sleep, but, it’s playing hell with my timing. Normally, as far as it ever is here, I get posted by 6 AM; it’s now 6:20 and I’m just beginning. Fortunately, some was done, but, it’s still going to be late. Ah well, so much for planning; I should be getting used to it, the way Murphy hangs his hat here….

I’ll take advantage, however, of this anomalous routine, to shorten this intro section into something resembling how it should always have been. Of course, any sort of normalcy in that respect is NOT to be expected, or even considered. We wouldn’t know how to deal with it, anyway, having never actually experienced anything remotely resembling its mundane status. But, I’m good at faking it, even if I can’t keep my personal tenses straight….

All that said, to no purpose, as usual, I’ll now use it as a distraction to notify the pilot to take us in now. Don’t worry, he’s been practicing, and you shouldn’t feel a thing…. and I mean that in a good way. If y’all would kindly lean down, and, all at once, pull the lever under your seat, the vehicle can assume the proper configuration for landing. Don’t worry, though, if anyone’s lever won’t move, that’s accounted for, so it won’t keep us from getting down…. Ready? One, two, three…. pull!…. Okay, that did it…. hang on, & we’ll be down shortly, ffolkes…..

Shall we Pearl?

“Perfect valor is to do unwitnessed what we should be capable of doing before all the world.” — Francois Duc de la Rochefoucauld

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Image stolen from Talesfromtheconspiratum.com

“There are two intelligent responses to contemporary Western civilisation: laughter and despair. You’ll note I’m not laughing.”– gigoid, stolen from Smart Bee

Today’s video will serve as the rant for today. I have no way to match John’s staff of writers and tech nerds, all of whom are paid to to put stuff together into video memes and skits, with appropriate Photoshopping, to enhance and illustrate his points during each week’s reports….. I could do it, probably, but, not without expending, literally, tens of thousands of words, most of which would end up putting y’all right to sleep. This is better, trust me….

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Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Municipal Violations (HBO)

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http://youtu.be/0UjpmT5noto

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“The media are now the tool of tyrants and despots.
Tyrants and despots encourage fear,
because fearful people will accept extreme political solutions,
will demand extreme political solutions.

~~ Jon Carroll, S. F. Chronicle, January 8, 1997 ~~

“I love my country too much to be a nationalist.”

~~ Albert Camus ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since the video material fulfilled the sobriety quotient for one day, this section will be filled with the funniest, or weirdest damn pearls I can find, just for the silliness of it….

“I think, therefore I thwim.” — Smart Alec Bee

“Ninety-eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hard-working, honest Americans. It’s the other lousy two percent that get all the publicity. But then – we elected them.”- Lily Tomlin

“If the world were a logical place, men would ride side-saddle, not women.” — Rita Mae Brown

“If your eyes hurt after you drink coffee, you have to take the spoon out of the cup.” — Norm Crosby

“The problem with the human race is it has very low admission standards.” — Smart Ass Bee

“Fleas can be taught nearly anything that a Congressman can.”- Mark Twain

“You were s’posed to laugh!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Okay, well, I tried…. Never mind; y’all can go on now. I can finish this without you….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today’s poem is again one of mine, as usual, to save time…. go figure…..

Lamenting Empathy, No Grace

Strange, strong, passions burn from within
Selling nothing short, nor out
Consumed, loudly, failing to mark the spin
Sad, resigned, in singular redoubt.

Fallow grounds for twisted seed
Become fated, grow, and die.
Experience never fills critical need
Save perhaps once, in ages gone by.

Shouting in severe, dulcet tone
Brittle, flaking, destiny floats away
Making noise, rattling the bone
Simply ageless fears held at bay.

We mask our illusions in faux belief
Tied to reality by matter of rote,
Send them postcards, without relief
Consecrated time, forever remote.

~~ gigoid ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today’s final pearl is one Smart Bee is best at putting together. It offers some valuable ideas on how to approach living, so as to maximize one’s own potential for serenity, and peace, which, in today’s world, can be difficult to find, and hold on to…. Enjoy, ffolkes, it’s all good advice, if you take it….

“Simplicity is always a virtue.” — Edward Abbey

“The only abnormality is the incapacity to love.” — Anais Nin

“Enjoy yourself–it’s later than you think.” — Chinese Proverb

“The best defense is to stay out of range.” — Smart Bee

“What the meaning of human life may be I don’t know; I incline to suspect that it has none.” — H. L. Mencken

“There are two ways of teaching people: You can teach them how to think, or you can teach them what to think. Socrates taught people how to think, Jesus taught people what to think…. and look what happened to them.” — Smart Bee

“Remember that to change thy mind and to follow him that sets thee right, is to be none the less the free agent that thou wast before.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, viii, 16

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire; you will what you imagine; and at last you create what you will.” — George Bernard Shaw

“‘Tis not knowing much, but what is useful, that makes a wise man.” — Thomas Fuller

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not bad for a pearl clapped together in jig time. I’ll take it, and, my leave, as well…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, hopefully, a bit closer to my usual appointed hour….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Popular hairstyles on sale, cheap….

Posted on March 22, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Climate is what you expect. Weather is what you get.”

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

White Buffalo Calf Woman

Image from Google Stock Images

This one is going to be strange; there’s no way around it. I am up on time, but, clueless. I’m confused, which is normal. I hurt, but, not so badly as the past few days. Yet, not a damn thing occurs to me to start this Pearl off with any pizazz, or dignity, or anything in between. Therefore, there is no way to predict, at all, what might happen today…. I’m not sure if I should be nervous, or filled with joyful anticipation. Since I went with the nice picture of the Lakota Spirit woman, who brought them their beliefs and wisdom, I’ll go with the latter, and hope for the best.

Such a lack of direction also may affect this intro, as is probably already obvious. I can’t think of another time when I was so out of it, mentally, after nine hours sleep…. The knife in my hip finally went away yesterday afternoon, without first giving me any clue as to A) why it happened, or B) what fixed it. I was sitting in the chair, uncomfortably shifting my weight around to get comfortable, when I realized it had dissolved, in a manner of speaking; it had simple gone away, without notice, or fanfare….. at which point, the stress and struggle of the last five days of fighting against the constant, unrelenting pain caught up to me….

So, I went to bed, at about 6:45 pm, sleeping fairly well until about 3:45 am, with only two trips to the restroom during the night…. possibly the best night’s sleep in weeks…. I’ll take it, naturally; I just wish I felt more together upon awakening. I seem to be less able to get up & begin functioning right away, as has always been my habit….. another gift from Father Time, I suppose (or, is that the Time Bitch I hear so much about from so many women?….). Whatever the case may be, I’m up, and moving, if not exactly spinning along like a top….

Oh well, it will have to do. I’m tired, I’m confused, and I don’t even like Jesus; oh, wait. That’s already a song….. okay, well, I’m done, anyway. This intro has reached a point I can call it legal, even if it doesn’t quite cut the mustard. It will have to do, for I’m just not together enough to try any harder…. not that it would get any better for having done so, but, I would have a better excuse to blame someone else, right? Right…. Now I’ve rejoined the human race, we’ll leave that subject behind, and get on with this….. Look Ma! No hands, and no emergency methods…. Yet, we are outta here, and on to the oyster beds, tout suite….

Shall we Pearl?

“Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not; it is the first lesson that ought to be learned; and however early a man’s training begins, it is probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly.” — Thomas H. Huxley

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15112676-wolfgang-amadeus-mozart-1756-1791-on-engraving-from-1908-one-of-the-most-significant-and-influential

Mozart, Image from Google Stock Images

Not only am I confused, but, decision making seems to also be a problem…. Hence, we’ll go with something to soothe the mind…. Enjoy!

***********************

Music for reading – Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Debussy, Liszt, Schumann

***********************

https://youtu.be/Qc7UzQB8gtI

***********************

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From 2/3/2013:

“I can handle reality in small doses, but as a lifestyle it’s much too confining.” — Lily Tomlin

This is one of many statements of its type, some from Miss Lily, some from other comedians and social philosophers, all of whom are special to me…. They are special because they poke fun at society in the mildest way, but with clarity that is belied by their apparent simplicity and obvious humor. It is easy for a lot of folks to dismiss little gems like this, as being unimportant, or less than serious, just because it speaks with tongue in cheek… Nothing could be further from the truth, as this statement is absolute gospel to a large percentage of the adult population of this country….

“Reality is for those people who can’t handle drugs.” — George Carlin (My attribution here might be incorrect, but, George inspired the line, if he didn’t write it himself….)

Here is another line from the revolution that happened back in the 60’s and 70’s, and it points up a very definitive difference between those folks who spend their time in the mainstream of society, and those who exist at the extremes, in this case, in what is generally conceived to be on the Left end of the scale…. Those who inhabit the other end of the political spectrum tend to rely on alcohol to blunt the effects of Reality on the brain, rather than what are dismissed by them as recreational drugs, such as marijuana, psilocybin, mescaline, etc. In some ways, you can get a good idea of the philosophies themselves by looking at how they approach the subject of drugs and alcohol, and by the differing methods of enhancing life with them….

Those who rely on alcohol are those who prefer to NOT know the truth, about anything. It seems to me that the physical effects of alcohol parallel exactly the way these folks look at life…. When under the influence of alcohol, one’s senses are depressed, and it is much harder to see the truth than at other times…. and that is the way they like it…. With consumption of alcohol, the hearing decreases, judgment is impaired, vision blurs, sense of touch is lessened, and fine muscle control is compromised, pretty much in that order of occurrence. It is the same each time, but with continued regular consumption, a certain tolerance is developed, a tolerance that slightly mitigates the effects, but certainly does not keep them from happening.

Those who use drugs to enhance or adjust their view don’t deny the truth, but they want it to be all prettied up for them in some way, so it isn’t so harsh and ugly…. Most of the effects of the drugs are in the mind, with some notable exceptions; the perceptions of all the senses are not depressed, but altered in some way, usually personal to the user, in physical response to the chemical in the drug that causes the cognitive alterations. Either way, whether with drugs, or with alcohol, perception of the truth is what ultimately suffers, which is what the proponents of both ends of the spectrum tend to forget, or deny….

“Have you ever wondered if taxation without representation was cheaper?” — Smart Bee

I have…. It is and it isn’t, and we are witnessing that phenomenon right now….. This may be why many people have such a hard time with reality; when one becomes aware of just how screwed up things are, and how much lying, cheating, and stealing is going on right before our eyes, it is rather daunting to take in all at once, so people do as they’ve always done, and slip into massive denial of the truth, preferring to just ignore the evidence that is slapping them upside the head…. One time, I actually sat down to do the math on the above question, and what I found was surprising…. Neither way works…. There just isn’t any logical way to govern people, and make it either profitable, or even reasonably cheap…. Well, not as long as the lying, cheating, and stealing is part of the equation, anyway….

“The word “dog” does not bite,” — William James

Boy, if that isn’t the truth…. but, try to convince the general public of that….. It is one of the basic issues to be considered when speaking to the public, one that the BRC and PTB members all know very well, as it is their chief weapon in controlling the populace…. Most folks don’t think…. when they do, it causes them pain, so they tend to let someone else do it for them, and just go along in blissful ignorance, accepting whatever they’re told without a clue. They never consider that the word itself is not the thing it describes; even worse, they don’t care to know….. It is the simplest thing in the world for the Beloved Ruling Class to fool the public, because they actively participate, with apparent glee, in their own debasement….

“As a matter of cold fact, a lot of people have no use for you because they can’t use you.” — Smart Bee

Sometimes, I’m not sure which disgusts me more…. the callous disregard for others that is the defining characteristic of all politicians and preachers, or the deliberately blind, fawning ignorance of those who refuse to become fully human, use their minds, and take responsibility for their own life…. To my way of thinking, both are deserving of every bit of trouble that reality can give them, just for their intransigence…. otherwise known as rampant stubbornness, or more simply, massive stupidity….

I’m being deliberately offensive this morning, as I’m sick and tired of how the general public refuses to wake up and smell the gunpowder, and I don’t really care if it hurts someone’s feelings. Anyone who disagrees with my assessment is free to offer up their own take on the matter, and I’ll give it equal time for discussion…. but, if what I’ve said hurts feelings, then apparently what I’ve said strikes just a little too close to the truth for comfort, and I would suggest that the person take a look at that before setting themselves up for embarrassment, by trying to argue without a leg upon which to stand….

In the past year and a half, I’ve written thousands and thousands of words trying to wake people up to how much they are giving away by refusing to think. It is my greatest hope that what I have to say may have some small effect on the world, an effect that might in some way contribute to our chances of surviving our own foolishness. I’m afraid my hope is, sadly, rather slim, but, I am not ready to quit my campaign, nor to change tactics. I’ll keep on poking at the BRC, and the priestly hierarchies, and every other enemy of mankind (for that is how I see them….) for as long as I can, and hope for the best….

“One of the greatest advantages in the world is enjoyed by the person who says and insists that they are telling the truth, when in fact, they are telling the truth.” — Smart Bee

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Image stolen from Talesfromtheconspiratum.com

Don’t ask me why, but, this poem just seems like the only one for today…..

The world is too much with us; late and soon

The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune,
It moves us not.–Great God! I’d rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.

~~ William Wordsworth ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following pearl is indescribable; moreover, I haven’t a single clue as to what any of it means…. Anybody got any ideas?….. Feel free to comment on this one; it may need it….

“One should always be a little improbable.” — Oscar Wilde

“Few things are less enjoyable than being old enough to know better.” Smart Bee, with no argument from gigoid

“I don’t think it would have all got me down quite so much if just once in a while- just once in a while- there was at least some polite little perfunctory implication that knowledge should lead to wisdom, and that if it doesn’t, it’s just a disgusting waste of time.” — J.D. Salinger, Franny & Zooey

“Why don’t cannibals eat clowns? Because they taste funny.” — Smart Alec Bee

“He bids fair to grow wise who has discovered that he is not so.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 598

“There’s no easy quick way out, we’re gonna have to live through our whole lives, win, lose, or draw.” — Walt Kelly

“In the words of Shankarachaya, “All impossible things can be made possible save the bringing of the fool’s mind to the point of truth.” — Hazrat Inayat Khan (Sufi writer)

“I think the dragon’s asleep.” — Famous Last Words

“And weep the more, because I weep in vain.” — Thomas Gray (1716-1771) — Sonnet, On the Death of Mr. West

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I can’t say how I did it, but, it’s done…. Though much of the pain I’ve had for the past five days has passed, the exhaustion remains, from the battle to keep from becoming homicidal. I’m taking the rest of today off…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, should I survive that long…. The odds are good….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Careful! Don’t let it get swollen….

Posted on March 21, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.”

~~ Confucius, Analects ~~

Simen Johan ~ National Geographic ~ Buffalo

Good morning, ffolkes. Today, I find myself on the horns of a dilemma, which, as you know, is NOT a large male bovine, which brings some rather disturbing new thoughts regarding euphemisms to mind; we’ll save them for another post, if I remember them later. The non-bovine dilemma is this; do I want to give in, or be strong?

I’ve decided to be strong, but, whiny…. Fuck! This hurts!

But, that’s as whiny as you’ll see. The only other sign you may note will be the extreme amount of cheating going on. I’m afraid I’ve been so distracted I got NONE of this one completed ahead of time, so, I must find a way to post it without actually creating anything new…. Oh well, I’ve certainly gotten enough practice at it, and, today, the pain I’m experiencing is guaranteed to keep the process moving along, you betcha….

All that being blathered, we’ll go right on in to the oyster beds, without even boarding the vehicle today. The pilot gets pain anyway, and the gift shop will just close early. The rest of us will just file through the door to the rear of the room, where we’ll find all our gear waiting for us to don, so we can get right in the water…. The price of the ride will be refunded, of course, as we didn’t ride.

Okay, that’s enough nonsense and blather; it’s legal. Barely….

Shall we Pearl?

“The absence of temptation is the absence of virtue.” — Goethe (1749-1832)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Butfy St. Marie

Image from Facebook, via Google Images

I’ve been enjoying finding all my favorite older artists on You Tube. So far, every one I can drag up out of my memory has had some videos posted online on YouTube. Here is another fine singer/songwriter who reached stardom during the 60’s, remaining active today. Here is some basic information from Wikipedia….

“Buffy Sainte-Marie, OC (born February 20, 1941) is a Canadian-American Cree singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. Throughout her career in all of these areas, her work has focused on issues of Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Her singing and writing repertoire also includes subjects of love, war, religion, and mysticism.

She founded the Cradleboard Teaching Project, an educational curriculum devoted to better understanding Native Americans. She has won recognition and many awards and honours for both her music and her work in education and social activism.” ~~ Wikipedia

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Buffy St. Marie

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https://youtu.be/hP-Gak9vTYU

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stolen from lindavernonhumor.com

As promised, more cheating, with a short religirant from the archives….

From 3/28/2012:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. — Romans 12:1

“Reasonable service” Hmm….. it seems to me that whomever wrote this should probably turn in his divine channeling papers, because all of his sense of proportion and believability just went flying out the window when this got onto parchment back in the day. I mean, give me a break! “your bodies a living sacrifice” is “reasonable service”. Well, if you have the kind of mind that will accept that at face value, then I have to inform you of a special deal, a deal you won’t be able to pass up….

That’s right, folks (note the spelling, please), today only, you too can be the envy of your neighbors, the hero of the housing tract, the cock o’the walk, as it were. Today, you can join those millions of people have taken advantage of this EXCLUSIVE OFFER! For the next few minutes our operators will be taking orders for this deal of a lifetime. What, you may ask, could be so wonderful, so glamorous, so blatantly gluttonous that EVERYONE wants one?

Well, I’ll tell you….. how would you feel to know that, thanks to your own good sense, you were the first in your area to be the proud owner of…. wait for it…. your own, exclusive jar, filled to the brim, with GOD’s OWN ETERNAL LOVE! That’s right, you heard me correctly. For the insanely low price we are asking, you’ll have to agree that we are practically giving away this priceless commodity; you won’t find this deal matched anywhere.

What is this essentially negligible price, you ask? Just how crazy are these guys? We’re pretty cagey, er, crazy, that’s for sure. Today only, we are asking for a mere lifetime commitment of your entire soul, and the mineral and artistic rights to your firstborn child, whether a son or daughter.

That’s right! An entire mason jar, filled to the brim with the priceless boon of God’s own eternal love, for the almost unnoticeable price we are seeking, would normally run you not only what we have asked, but also want you to throw in your wife, guarantee the rest of your children’s yearly incomes for life, and toss in a few succeeding generations as well. But today, and today only, you too can join those exclusive few who are privileged to have their very own centerpiece for the family altar, for the bargain price of one soul, and consumer rights on a child.

How can you lose? And how can you afford to pass up this opportunity to advance your standing in the eyes of your peers, as well as the eyes of God? You can’t, so pony up, sucker!…..

Hahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahaha……..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stolen from Talesfromtheconspiratum.com

To continue with our theme, here is another older poem of mine….

Dreaming, I wait….

In the most patient moments of rationality
kindness flows smoothly in a special milieu,
fallow thoughts speed first from equality
to give no anxious fever, anger to eschew.

Indignant mothers and step-sons in-law
shall fade simply from brilliant to grey,
intoning ritual dogma, fresh, avid, and raw,
falling, falling, in massive pastoral disarray.

Safety lives not, save brightly in ignorant bliss,
it follows us all, silent and infinitely frail,
foremost too often, soft as a virgin kiss,
alive, always eager, willing, and pale.

Intimate knowledge finds only the bold few
with courage and virtue to gift, unbidden.
No solemn royal version may pass in review,
true love for man, never to remain unhidden.

Sweet feathers of Emily’s hope uplift,
calm, drowsy episodes bursting with light,
With final glad cries we set ourselves adrift,
swimming in the oceans of natural delight.

When sorrow is banished, in ages yet to come,
roots solidly anchored, cold and remote,
Ample supplies of kindness sit silent and dumb,
and the old stranger shrugs on his faded coat.

Dreaming, then, I wait with shadows in the night
aspiring to inspire, a message from the muse’s heart
Never forgotten images, framed in color bright,
tempt me only, grieving, steeped in serenity’s arcane art…..

~~ gigoid ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I tried to prove I could still be fresh, by creating a basic, random pearl. This….. well, I can’t think of a word to describe what happened, but. this is it… I don’t even want to talk about it, okay?….

“Have you summoned your wits from wool-gathering?” — Thomas Middleton (1580-1627) — The Family of Love, Act v, Sc. 3

“I quite agree with you,” said the Duchess; “and the moral of that is — `Be what you would seem to be’ — or, if you’d like it put more simply — `Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise.'” — Lewis Carrol, Alice in Wonderland

“…just when I had you wriggling in the crushing grip of reason, too…” — Calvin & Hobbes

“Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.” — Smart Bee

“In this world, you have to be oh so smart or oh so pleasant. I spent years being smart. I recommend pleasant.” — Elwood P. Dowd, (Jimmy Stewart), in “Harvey”

“Nine out of ten Rottweilers prefer Jehovah’s Witnesses.” — Smart Bee

“You mean now I can SHOOT YOU in the back and further BLUR th’ distinction between FANTASY and REALITY?” — Zippy the Pinhead

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay…. Two and a half hours, and a massive amount of heavy drugs later, I’m done. Thanks to modern chemistry, I’m oblivious to all pain now, so, I’ll see if I can’t get something normal done before it all wears off, and the battle begins anew. For now, I’m happy with whatever happened here, no matter HOW it “looks” or “feels”…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….. one way or t’other….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Ode to a Grecian fern….

Posted on March 17, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“His own character is the arbiter of every one’s fortune.”

~~ Publius Syrus (42 BC) ~~

~~ Maxim 283 ~~

3 owls in Russia-Olga Maltseva-AFP-Getty Images

Chased by all the demons of Hell, I awoke. Having spent much of the night running from the hosts of Hell, I awoke, to find myself once again deep in the throes of confusion, made worse by nausea, thanks to my traveling balance crystals, which have chosen this morning to go for a spin. Rather than return to the steeplechase, wherein I was the fox, I got up, stumbled out to boot up, and began to write…. Just my luck the only idea in my head has more to do with murder than literature…. Who do I want to murder? Oh, take your pick, it’s a long list….

I had hoped I’d gotten past this morning angst related to this intro section, but, apparently not. Oh well. I don’t have the chutzpah today to worry about it. Fortunately for me, about half this Pearl got done before I got up, so, we may yet meet our personal demands for publication by a certain hour. Of course, there’s no guarantee, given or implied, we’ll ever make it out of this section, though the odds are in our favor there. Despite all the problems I find obstructing the way during this process, we do get it done each day…. Well, it’s done, as long as we don’t try to call it anything like “good” or even “okay”….. I think “inoffensive” is the best we can hope for….

Nonetheless, here we are, so, I may as well try to make it something worth wasting a bit of time to peruse over your morning coffee or tea. In order to do so, however, I think I’m going to have to make another executive decision as to timing, to get us down to the next section. I know it’s not exactly kosher, but, I’m not of the Tribe, so, that isn’t a factor for me. Besides, I LIKE pork…. and, I like meat on Fridays, too, so, all you priestly types can just forget it…. Forget what? Hell, why ask me? I just type here….

Speaking of typing, I think I’ve typed quite enough for one morning; any more along these lines, and we could find ourselves in court again. I swear, when we started this, we never thought our legal budget was going to take up such a large part of the overall cost of business…. But, I guess that’s life in the modern world; the lawyers are entitled to their cut of my money, according to the rules we all play by…. Well, that’s how they’d like us all to behave, anyway…. Ah hell, see? I can’t even rant effectively right now…. ARGH!

Fuck it, ffolkes. I’m outta here. I can’t deal with trying to make this right, and it’s too late for that anyhow. Hang on to your hats, because I’m telling the pilot to take us in hot…. PUT THAT DOWN!…. That will be enough of that, thank you. Now, if y’all don’t mind, we will now take our leave, and go find something else to do, that won’t make us look so funny, or get us in any worse trouble than we’re already in…. Again, I say, fuck it….

Shall we Pearl?

“I’m not a teacher only a fellow traveller of whom you asked the way. I pointed ahead – ahead of myself as well as of you.” — George Bernard Shaw, “Getting Married,” 1908

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jennifer Warnes ~ Image from allmusic.com/Google images

http://www.jenniferwarnes.com/

I’m not sure how many ffolkes, or folks, will remember this lady. I know many will know her voice when hearing it, for she was part of a song duet which became a cultural icon during the 60’s, and, in fact, was one of the better known performers of that time, at least, among us hippies. This was because she was a contemporary, and frequent co-performer with many of the biggest names in music of that time, including Mimi Fariña, Joan Baez, Linda Ronstadt, and, her best known collaborator from that era, Bill Medley, of the Righteous Brothers, with whom she sang the duet in the incredible “I Had the Time of My Life”, as revived for the movie, “Dirty Dancing”. She has also collaborated a lot with Leonard Cohen, whose work we highlighted here a short time ago… Enjoy, ffolkes; this lady can SING!….

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Jennifer Warnes

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https://youtu.be/bPlpxHhzSp0?list=PLfb5wJhuBA28GTLiTWlwzMLO8f9Z9v4na

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As noted above, I don’t have much going on this morning that isn’t tinged by a bit of incipient nausea; ranting is out of the question. This one from a few years ago will have to do for today…. Oddly enough, nothing much is changed from when this was first posted…. go figure….

From 6/6/2012:

“Let us, then, fellow citizens, unite with one heart and one mind. Let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and affection without which liberty and even life itself are but dreary things. And let us reflect that having banished from our land that religious intolerance under which mankind so long bled, we have yet gained little if we countenance a political intolerance as despotic, as wicked, and capable of a bitter and bloody persecution.” — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

See! They warned us, and we still didn’t listen! Almost every one of the men who were involved in the writing of the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights, at one time or another in the ensuing years, wrote a letter or essay discussing this very idea. They had just fought a long, hard battle to set up the safeguards for the freedoms we now supposedly enjoy, and were nervous that what they had accomplished would be lost in the future, due to the machinations of those among the human herd who make it their habit to prey on the rest of the group.

Corporations, and the politicians who take their money in return for legislation favoring those corporations, were considered just as dangerous to liberty as were religions; Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, Mason, Adams, and a host of others all wrote their own version of warnings to their ancestors, naming rapacious corporate entities among the most dangerous enemies against which to guard. These men, who had already risked everything to create the nation we live in, had no desire to see that nation fall to internal enemies, and were careful to make sure that we would know…

But, nobody listened, and, now we are reaping what we have sown. Corporations control Congress. If you believe otherwise, you are delusional, quite simply. It is only necessary to go down the list of those who have been elected, and tally up how their votes go on issues that concern the control of corporate activities. It becomes perfectly clear that NO legislation that seriously hinders what corporations are allowed to do in their pursuit of profit will ever be enacted.

If something that appears to be beneficial to the public does get voted in, you can bet there are codicils and amendments to the bill that essentially emasculate any attempts to curtail profit. Congress hasn’t enacted any laws beneficial to the public in over 75 years, that I can see, and I invite anyone to show me one bill that did so. Just one…. then we can discuss how long it took to find it…. and what THAT little item of information means….

Back in the mid-nineteenth century in America, a corrupt Federal judge was paid by corporate interests to make a ruling that, in essence, gave corporations “person-hood”, making them legal entities entitled to all the protection of the laws that govern individuals. Essentially, this gave these businesses the “right” to a profit, and allows them to charge their customers for any expenses they wish, no matter how egregious or outlandish, and their right to that is protected by law.

Every legal decision challenging that personhood has been defeated in the intervening years, on those few occasions when anyone has tried to throw off the chains the law has placed on us all. The amount of money spent on lobbying, to control the laws that get made, far exceeds what is spent on education, healthcare, or almost any other publicly beneficial programs, and in the eyes of the 1%, it is money well-spent…..

Now, PAC’s for both the Democratic corporations, and the Republican corporations (yes, they are…. there is no real difference between the corporations and the pundits they have paid for; they’re speaking the same language, and have the same goals….) are all set to spend BILLIONS of dollars, dollars originally ripped out of YOUR pockets for stuff you don’t really want or need, to spread lies, misinformation, accusations, and prestidigitation around the public airways until we are all sick of it…..

Well, until some of us are…. I’m sick of it already, and they haven’t really ramped it up yet….. I think I’m going to go buy some aspirin to go along with my other pain medications; I can feel a headache coming on, and I don’t think it will let up until December….

“I speak truth, not so much as I would, but as much as I dare; and I dare a little the more as I grow older.” — Michael de Montaigne

So be it.

gigoid has spoken.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don’t know why, but, this one seems appropriate for today’s Pearl….

Accentuated Lessons

Bold statements of calculated intent
Become common rule of the malcontent.
Avarice assumes such attractive wear
Beguiling deception, illusory and fair.

Grasping and pulling with ghostly hands
Legally proper in all the signatory lands.
Seeking and finding each vulnerable soul
Anguish as payment for exacting the toll.

Wraiths of commerce’s invisible dead guards
Still haunt the dreams left in sad empty yards.
While absentee nobles sit in stiffly elegant splendor
Served by sad-faced detainees in abject surrender.

Escape from reality is illusory at best
Often we falter and fail its daily test.
Only when focused on inner strength
Does peace stay with us for any length.

Peace lies within, always…..

~~ gigoid ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is what I would call a pearl of philosophy, for lack of anything more classy or brilliant. It has been specially constructed to conform to the highest standards of truth, as well as ethically and physically centered for your convenience; the purpose is to encourage using what you read, and ponder, to center your mind, and your spirit…. It can’t hurt to try, now, can it?….. I can tell you from personal experience, if you do it right, it works…. But, then, not everybody CAN do it; nothing wrong with that, as each one will work toward the same purpose in your mind, whether you know it or not…. Truth is like that; yeah, it is….

“Alone, I look down the road. Each must walk one’s own path.”

~~ 365 Tao ~~

“You live and learn. Or you don’t live long.”

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

“I do not believe in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.”

~~ Thomas Carlyle ~~

“Nothing in human affairs is worth any great anxiety.”

~~ Plato ~~

“Without civic morality communities perish; without personal morality their survival has no value.”

~~ Bertrand Russell ~~

“Don’t be afraid to feel as angry or as loving as you can, because when you feel nothing, it’s just death.”

~~ Lena Horne ~~

“To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one’s own in the midst of abundance.”

~~ Buddha~~

“Intellect annuls fate. So far as a man thinks, he is free.”

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~

“Truth needs no flowers of speech.”

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hopelessly lost, but making good time…” — David Letterman

Boy, that’s us, to a T! However, not only are we hopelessly lost, but, we have arrived, so, we can say we made good time, for sure… Hell, I’m not sure I’m all the way awake yet, so, I can only assume being done is the right thing to do….

Hmm… You know what? In looking back over that last sentence or two, I think it’s just as well we ARE done. Any more of this and we could be arrested for assault with an empty weapon. Since I can’t afford any more time in court, I’m definitely outta here for today. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if I can’t figure out a way out of it….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loo.se.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Portrait of the artist as a young fool….

Posted on March 16, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Murphy was an optimist.”

~~ O’Toole’s Commentary on Murphy’s Laws ~~

Ibiza, by Denise Anderson

Fat sausages sizzled on the grill, while loud rock played from a boom box in the corner. Pots clanged, dishes rattled, and voices raised above the din, crying out needs and curses above the frightful din, “Pick up #12!”, “Where’s my fish?” “Fool! I said sauté in HAZELNUT butter!” Nobody paid the slightest attention to the small boy, furtively sneaking around the edges of the babbling crowd, keeping to the wall as he made his way to the back door, leading into the alleyway. The boy kept his head down, silently wending his way between the fast-moving bodies like a small elephant calf among the forest of the adults’ massive legs…..

Okay, that’s plenty…. We’ll leave the boy to his business, and get on with this nonsense now…. Not that I have a single idea of how to get started…. The fictional opening wasn’t bad, but, it doesn’t seem to have landed me anywhere useful, in terms of where to go next. I suppose I COULD stop a moment, and actually THINK about it, but, what fun would that be? I need to type as fast as I can, anyway, before my fingers turn to painful lumps on the end of my arms, good for bludgeoning flies and beating myself on the forehead, and, that’s about it…. But, then, nobody cares, do they? Results are all that counts in this society, dag nab it…

Don’t worry, I’m not going to bust out into a rant this morning; I’m far to awake for that. I may, however, slip over into sheer nonsense at times, as I’m not sure just how to deal with this energy. It’s been a long while since I woke up after this many days of relatively good sleep; I’m not sure what to do with it, having gone so long without. Of course, the sleep was broken, as usual, by numerous nighttime trips up to the head, or to sit & tremble while my body adjusts to the lowering of the Norco for a while…. That’s all fairly normal, and part of getting old, I suppose; sleeping in full comfort is a thing of the past…. But, it’ll do, as it must….

Wow…. lookie there! It’s an exit! It’s been month since I saw one of the actual street signs; we generally come at them too fast to pick up on that. But, it’s a real one, with the serial number right there in plain sight (what does the number 666 mean?….). Any who, we’re going to use it, since we’re here, and have the chance. It isn’t often we make a fully legal entrance; it’s a good thing officer Willie doesn’t come by more often, or we’d be in court more than we’d like. For now, I’d suggest you put down your beverages, and hold on; we’re going in, and going in hard….

Shall we Pearl?

“Evil habits soil a fine dress more than mud; good manners, by their deeds, easily set off a lowly garb.” — Plautus

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I yam what I yam, an’ that’s all what I yam…. I’m Popeye the Sailor Man!….

***********************

Popeye The Sailor

***********************

https://youtu.be/cq-B7lnfuhQ

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ignorance plays the chief part among men, and the multitude of words;”

~~ Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) ~~

~~ Cleobulus, iv ~~

From 4/13/2013:

“Custom does often reason overrule and only serves for reason to the fool.” — John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester

This aphorism is one I think most people would accept as true, at least part of the time. It also points up what I see as a basic flaw in human nature, a characteristic that everyone possesses, and few overmaster. It has to do with our core beliefs, and the attitude we assume as our method of perception, the orientation of our world-view, as it were. We all perceive what is out there in the universe, but we are not capable, at this time, of understanding, or even noting, all that is there to be perceived, as we are limited to what we can see, hear, feel, touch, taste, or deduce, in our immediate vicinity…. We don’t yet know how to include the input of anything not in our physical presence, other than vicariously (via TV, radio, books, etc…..).

We do, however perceive what we are near, and what we do with those perceptions is what determines how the events of our lives will proceed. What is more, each one of us perceives all of this IN A DIFFERENT WAY….. Two people can look at the same article, or event, and see two entirely different things; just ask them….. We use the same senses, the same KIND of brains to process the data, at the same time to observe the same event, yet the interpretation of those events will vary, by as many degrees as there are people perceiving them. This unique ability, to process data in a completely new and different way from anyone else’s method, is, as might be guessed, both a blessing, and a curse….. It is the latter which concerns me today…..

In order to coexist in the same place and time, people have learned to accept certain perceptions as being identical, for the purposes of communication, e.g., everyone knows what “fire” is, and knows not to touch it barehanded…. (Note: in a way, this blog is all about the process of such communications…. We explore the reality that is consensual, the one we all agree to deal with as being the same for all of us…..) This is the blessing it gives, the opportunity to increase understanding, to allow people to work in tandem, making both much more capable, making two more than just one plus one….. This is a very useful tool in the real world, and has helped our species achieve the degree of civilization we now enjoy….

The other side of this characteristic has an equal part in our destiny, and, may be, in point of fact, the more important of the two, in the ultimate sense….. You see, we are all herd animals, and desire the approval and company of our peers; without it, we suffer, much more than we even know. It is not “human” to remain alone too long…. Oh, there is nothing wrong with solitude, and much great thought is achieved when one is not distracted by others….. On the other hand, a human who is alone for too long becomes a pale imitation of his/her true self, without the presence of other minds to test his/her theories, to discuss and share their feelings and accomplishments, to vent their frustrations, to experience love….. Without these things, our spirits become small, and lose their moral compass, leaving us adrift in a reality that seems dark, and dangerous….

This dependence on custom (which I define as the total construct of human society, the set of rules and regulations, all unwritten, by which all of us shape our behavior in respect to each other…..) is so strong that, as the aphorism states, one becomes willing to set reason aside, in order to keep and maintain our feeling of having a place in society. We will assume whatever mask that society demands, at times, in order to not have to wear a mask of our own devising, one that we do not find comfortable…. This is the curse of which I spoke….

‘Tis an unfortunate fact there are a number of people who have no compunctions whatsoever in using this human characteristic to their own ends….. They don’t believe in any of the crap they spew, but will say or do anything to make sure that others do, because this is how they control the general populace… They spread their lies, fast and often, until they are believed…. these lies promulgate fear amongst the uneducated and timid, who then demand that “something be done!” by those in charge…. which is exactly what those people wanted, for they can now proceed to further fan the flames of fear, while surreptitiously looting the public treasury to make it seem as if they are doing something constructive…. “Hey, they’re stealing our oil! Let’s spend a few billion to bomb the crap out of them so we can keep driving SUV’s, with great cup holders!”

Oh well, I guess that’s all the rant I’ve got in me today…. It’s kind of mild I know, but I was trying to be scholarly, rather than controversial and accusatory…. I think I’ve succeeded in that, but, it doesn’t quite give the same thrill and/or release as a good, nasty rant, with some great name-calling… Well, I can always call them assholes, because, hey, it fits, and it’s easy to type…. Any who, I’ll stop now, right on the edge of illumination, and allow the Gentle Reader to follow the train of my thought to its obvious conclusion…. For those too busy, or too lazy to do so, I’ll summarize….

Don’t listen to what anyone else says, not about YOUR perceptions. And, for sure, kick the asses of anyone who tries to convince you of their integrity in an elected capacity, or any position of authority…. A lot of people, on every level of society, are just trying to control you for their own purposes, and deserve any ass-kicking that comes their way…. Be like a cat…. cats don’t give a SHIT what anybody thinks, they just are….. No apologies, no fuss, just leave me alone, because I’m busy being a cat….. This is good advice, so, listen up, I’m trying to do you a favor….. 😆

“We need very strong ears to hear ourselves judged frankly, and because there are few who can endure frank criticism without being stung by it, those who venture to criticize us perform a remarkable act of friendship, for to undertake to wound or offend a man for his own good is to have a healthy love for him.” — Michel Eyquem de Montaigne _Essays_, bk. III, ch. 11 [1595]

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A little change of pace from our usual reliance on my meager skills at poetry…. Enjoy, ffolkes, nonsense doesn’t get any better than this….

`Just the place for a Snark!’ the Bellman cried,
As he landed his crew with care;
Supporting each man on the top of the tide
By a finger entwined in his hair.

‘Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice:
That alone should encourage the crew.
Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice:
What I tell you three times is true.’

~~ Lewis Carroll ~~

~~ from THE HUNTING OF THE SNARK, an Agony in Eight Fits ~~

( full text at: https://books.google.com/books?id=Ws8CBwAAQBAJ&pg=PP2&dq=%60Just+the+place+for+a+Snark!%27+the+Bellman+cried,&hl=en&sa=X&ei=wssFVeqRLobtoATUpYGwBg&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%60Just%20the%20place%20for%20a%20Snark!%27%20the%20Bellman%20cried%2C&f=false

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From 7/28/2012:

Caution: Old School Pearl Ahead. Gird Your Grids For A Big One…..

“Two babies were born on the same day at the same hospital. They lay there and looked at each other. Their families came and took them away. Eighty years later, by a bizarre coincidence, they lay in the same hospital, on their deathbeds, next to each other. One of them looked at the other and said, “So. What did you think?” — Steven Wright

A monk said to Joshu, “I have just entered this monastery. Please teach me.”
“Have you eaten your breakfast?” Joshu asked.
“Yes, I have,” replied the student.
“Then you had better wash your bowl.”

~~ Smart Buddhist Bee ~~

“TAPPING? You POLITICIANS! Don’t you realize that the END of the “Wash Cycle” is a TREASURED MOMENT for most people?!” — Zippy the Pinhead

“I’ll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!” — Wicked Witch of the East

“Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

There, that should do it…. I’ve made this as clear as mud, obviously…. Don’t worry, though, it won’t be on the test…. In fact, it won’t even count toward graduation, not that we care about stuff like that…. But, it does make a good point, yes? Nod your head…..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I find little needs to be said at this point; it’s all fairly well covered above. If not, we’ll have to try again tomorrow, because I am NOT starting over. In fact, I’m outta here…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Misfiring on all cylinders….

Posted on March 15, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality.”

~~ Jules de Gaultier ~~

OMG! So SCARY!… Dragon Style Tai Chi!

So much for good intentions…. Having slept two full hours past my normal time to awake, I’m running WAY behind. As would be expected, this condition produces a mild feeling of panic, which I must throw aside, ignoring it to the best of my ability, if I am to have any hope of getting this done. Especially considering the state of mind I find myself in, which somewhat resembles a bowl of oatmeal…. Bland, inoffensive, and BORING…. even if it’s good for you…

So far as I can tell, that oatmeal isn’t overcooked, though, so, there is hope we may yet find our way into the body of today’s Pearl. Of course, that assumes I have the wherewithal to even produce something resembling our normal output. I’m not certain, exactly, how I’m getting THIS done, as I really don’t know what the hell I’m doing, or where I am going with this. More so than even our ‘normal’ state, we are somewhat befuddled, like a sloth awakened from a short sleep, blinking confusedly at the light, wondering just what or who I am…. SIGH….

Oh well. It’s been worse, I suppose, though I can’t recall when that might have been; past, present, future are all dark to me. In fact, so dark, rather than fumble around any further, with no clue as to what may occur next, I think I’ll use this handy, dandy plot device I found laying here, to get us out of this poorly conceived, yet hopefully mundane effort to distract y’all from the actual mess we’ve come to inhabit. I can’t do anything about the excessive sweating y’all had to undergo, but, I will loan y’all some deodorant to get you home without offending your car’s co-inhabitants.

In addition, we won’t charge any extra for the extra time it takes to clean off the debris from your clothing; it is, after all, our own fault, for trying to keep up with the times. Sad to say, we’ve never been able to catch up, but, it’s fun to keep trying. Since I can’t think of a single thing to do to keep this up any longer, I suggest you hang on….. this will be a very sharp, fast dive back into reality, where we may once again set our imaginations free…..

Shall we Pearl?

“Remember, ‘nowhere’ is also ‘now here’.” — Smart Bee

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When my soul needs uplifting, there is nothing like this woman’s music to lift us up…. I have been madly in love with her for almost 50 years…. Brilliant guitarist, red hair, a gorgeous smile. and the voice of an angel…. What’s not to love? I give you the woman I call the finest female musician of the past century…. Ms. Bonnie Raitt….

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BONNIE RAITT Live in Germany 1992

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https://youtu.be/FeprNTw9Wcc

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From 1/29/2015:

“A power has risen up in the government greater than the people themselves, consisting of many and various and powerful interests, combined into one mass, and held together by the cohesive power of the vast surplus in the banks.” — Johann L. Uhland (1787-1862) — Speech, May 27, 1836

Zowie! Eureka! I knew I’d heard this somewhere before, but, couldn’t remember the author’s name. In stating this observation, made not long after the US government was formed, the author takes the hand of Thomas Jefferson, who expressed his fear of exactly this happenstance, in numerous letters to friends before, and after, the signing of the Constitution. He recognized the overpowering ambition and thirst for power so obvious in those who embrace it, attempting to warn his fellow citizens, many times….

As is plain to see, nobody paid the slightest attention, whereupon the bankers, in close conjunction with their myrmidons, i.e., the pundits and lawyers, continued to pursue their evil intent, to secure their hold over government, and, thus, society…. They’ve been so successful, we see in today’s world, they control every level of the national scene; witness the number of Republican presidential candidates who have been sucking up to the Koch brothers, and the Citizens United PAC, with their unlimited pile of money, in use in today’s world buying the loyalty of every single politician they can pervert to their insane desire to make the world over in their own image…. It doesn’t seem to matter at all to them that image is a clear, crisp photograph of the worst HELL imaginable, or that it would entail oppressing 99% of the human race….

Why are many scientists using lawyers for medical experiments instead of rats?

a) There are more lawyers than rats.

b) The scientist’s don’t become as emotionally attached to them.

c) There are some things that even rats won’t do for money.

~~ Smart Bee ~~

Gee, do ya think I’ve lost some of my respect for lawyers, and their second-slimiest clients, the bankers? (First place in my hell is reserved for pimps, and those who abuse women, children, or animals…. which, of course, lawyers and bankers do by proxy, with their usual complete indifference to the suffering of others….) Why no, of course not. I’ve lost ALL of it, with what I consider damn good reason, based on 64 years of observing the human drama, along with my own personal experience with both categories of asshole…. The only respect for any of them I have, is for those who actually HELP people, without considering what they can get out of it, other than their own satisfaction for helping people find justice, and a reasonable fee for that help, whether the fee is taken in pies & chickens, eternal gratitude, or simply cash….

In keeping with today’s theme of picking on lawyers and bankers, and, to save energy for my upcoming battle, I decided to pick out an old school pearl, aimed at the former, as they’re an easier target, all in all…. They’re just SO…… weaselly! Well, there are some are exceptions, sure, but, the others infest the world so prominently, the good ones are hard to find…. Ah well, here are some observations about them, from Smart Bee, and a number of other people who feel the same as most everybody else, about those lawyers who use their skills to benefit themselves, showing complete indifference as to whether it benefits anyone else….

Liar, n.: A lawyer with a roving commission. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“A group of white South Africans recently killed a black lawyer because he was black. That was wrong. They should have killed him because he was a lawyer.” — A. Whitney Brown

“Always take a lawyer with you, and bring another lawyer to watch him.” — Bo Diddly’s Observation on the Law

“Fleas can be taught nearly everything a lawyer can.” — Smart Bee

“Here’s an amazing story. A man in Orlando, Florida, was hit by eight cars in a row and only one stopped. The first seven drivers thought he was a lawyer. The eighth was a lawyer.” — Jay Leno

“If a lawyer and an IRS agent were both drowning, and you could only save one of them, would you go to lunch or read the paper?” — Smart Bee

“In a man’s world…simian aptitudes are rated high, and so not too many women get in. To succeed as a lawyer, for example, a woman would have to throttle two of her chief attributes: her disdain for the petty accumulations of useless knowledge, and her sharp feeling for the truth. What men in their imbecility consistently mistake for a deficiency of intelligence in women is merely an incapacity for mastering small and trivial tricks.” — H. L. Mencken, Chicago _Sunday Tribune_, January 8, 1928

“In the Norse mythology Loki originally was on the side of the rest of the gods, helping them once or twice using particularly nasty forms of trickery. He was a cunning negotiator with a talent for technicalities. He was sort of the Norse equivalent of a lawyer, no doubt the reason they tied him down in a pit dripping acidic venom on him.” — Martin Terman

“How many lawyers does it take to change a light bulb? You won’t find a lawyer who can change a light bulb. Now, if you’re looking for a lawyer to screw a light bulb… ” — Smart Bee

LAWYER: A professional advocate hired to bend the law on behalf of a paying client; for this reason considered the most suitable background for entry into politics. — Definition from “THE CYNIC’S DICTIONARY”

Needless to say, I could do this forever, no sweat, or guilt; there are already nine pearls, and I’ve only used three of the ten pages of quotes I’ve collected on the subject. But, I suppose there ARE more productive things we could all be doing. This is pretty cool, but, as with all good things, it can’t last forever…. Onward, into the day….

Oh, hell…. Naturally, AFTER I’ve finished, I find the PERFECT pearl for this group. Since we’ve already completed it, I’ll just tack it here on the end, where it will enjoy its highlighted position; I call it perfect because it takes a shot at two categories at once, both of which are current players in my personal drama…. This one tells it like it is, for sure and for certain….

“Doctors are the same as lawyers; the only difference is that lawyers merely rob you, whereas doctors rob you and kill you too.” — Anton Chekhov

gigoid has spoken…

So be it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In order to avoid blame, and keep to the now ruined schedule, here is another of my older poems….

Fine and Good, Good and Fine

A pig in a poke’s got nothing on me,
cuz I’m as confused as a man can be.
This ol’ world’s got me spinnin’ around
cussin’ and spittin’, a penny for a pound.

Forty ‘leven times since I was a kid, well,
I’ve fallen in love, ‘least too close to tell.
Every damn time, it all went to crap,
Forty ‘leven times I’ve felt like a sap.

‘Course, each time it happens, I forget the last;
why not? I’m havin’ such a blast….
Livin’ in each moment, filled with joie de vivre,
’til it’s all gone away again, nothin’ left up my sleeve.

Don’t want y’all to think I’m sad or blue,
life’s full of sorrow, lots for me, and/or you..
T’other side of that coin, we can be glad,
is joyful love, and that ain’t at all bad.

My road’s been littered with parts o’my heart,
each one colored with trust, which ain’t always smart.
Yet, long as I don’t lose my connection to joy,
I’ll find my own true love, and be a happy boy.

It’s been some kinda fun, even when I’d take a fall,
and doin’ it over makes no sense at all, at all
Day after day, I keep on keepin’ on, as it’s said;
Guess I’ll keep on doin’ that ’til I’m dead.

‘Nuff said….

~~ gigoid, tongue firmly in cheek ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, I have no idea where this pearl came from…. I found it sitting here when I came down to start on this section. I’m not entirely sure what it’s saying, but, it definitely has something to say…. I’d pay attention, if I were y’all… there might be something in there more important than it seems at first read…. It won’t be on the Quiz, unless, of course, they’re lying to me, too….. Ah well, it’s a fun read, anyway, so, enjoy!….

“The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things.” — Plato (BC 427?-347?)

“I know now that there’s one thing you’ve all overlooked: intelligence and education that hasn’t been tempered by human affection isn’t worth a damn.” — Daniel Keyes, “Flowers for Algernon”

“Everything is leaf, and through this simplicity the greatest diversity becomes possible.” — Wolfgang Goethe (1749-1832)

“All cats are NOT gray after midnight. Endless variety …” — Lazarus Long

“If it is not seemly, do it not; if it is not true, speak it not.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, xii, 17

“We become wiser by adversity; prosperity destroys our appreciation of the right.” — Seneca

“Living Dead the path is chosen; to live forever is to die forever. To not know when you’ll die is to find life wherever you are.” — Alagad

“The chief aim of wisdom is to enable one to bear with the stupidity of the ignorant.” — Xystus I

Ne te confundant illegitimi (Don’t let the bastards get you down…) (alt: Don’t let illusion confuse you…) (Literal: lest you confuse Illegitimate) — Smart Bee

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well…. Considering this Pearl was composed and created from relative scratch in just under 58 minutes, it came out fairly well…. I’m not going to even THINK about proofing, as it might take longer than the original creation. Y’all know what that means; you are hereby released from any further need to remain on the premises; all legal action has been canceled. Me, I’m outta here, before I change my mind…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Switch over to the Itsy Bitsy network…

Posted on March 14, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

No slave is ever freed, save he freeth himself.

~~ Smart Bee ~~

Artist’s rendition of Mars One Colony outpost: picture from Space.com

It won’t do. It simply won’t do…. Unless, of course, it does, in which case, we have no opening…. SIGH. Well, ffolkes, I seem to have done it again…. Here I am, clueless as to how to begin, again, with a large amount of blank white covering the screen, and, my mind’s inner vision…. I wouldn’t want to put any blame for this anywhere it doesn’t belong, but, pretty soon, I’m going to have to assign a scapegoat of some kind, to get rid of all this angst; at least, then, I’d have something to feel guilty about….

I must say, though, I’m not much into guilt, having decided long ago it’s a pretty useless emotion, based generally on misconceptions of entitlement having nothing to do with the real world; only our own false ideas of how we DESERVE to be treated can cause us to ignore that which will not change at our command. Moreover, the whole deal becomes doubly useless when one considers one is experiencing guilt, anger, or other inappropriate frustration, over something we never had any right to demand in the first place….

Having thus far managed to avoid any such nonsense here on ECR, I think I’ll just use another facet of the human condition, one we ALL have practiced to some degree, to wit: total denial of reality in favor of one of our delusions…. It’s a common practice for us homo bozoidus’ to dump all the blame for what happens in our lives onto damn near anything, or anyone, other than ourselves; anyone who says they haven’t done this is, quite simply, a liar. We ALL have practiced such denial, at one point or another in our lives, if only to protect our own egos from the depredations piled upon it almost every day by our culture; denial of having done so is futile. It doesn’t make you a bad person, merely human….

And, goodness knows, we humans have our flaws…. But, the intro isn’t really the place to go any further into such matters. In fact, we’ve pretty much used up all the available space with my wandering around this concept, without ever really nailing it down. SIGH….. I suppose that’s what happens when I try to use the gestalt method of getting my thoughts down…. Sometimes it works; other times, not so well…. I will leave it to y’all to judge how it worked out, because I must now get us out of here, before we get stuck here for the rest of our allotted time…. In fact, look!…. It’s good ol’ #4, just sitting there, wagging its tail, waiting to take us out of here….

“Captain, I sense… a PLOT DEVICE!” — Smart Bee

Nah! Couldn’t be that!….. But, we’ll use it anyway, okay? Okay….

Shall we Pearl?

“Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.” — Buddha (B.C. 568-488)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Photo from http://www.markknopfler.com/gallery/tracker/

Got a bit lucky yesterday…. I subscribe to Rolling Stone’s email newsletter, for just this reason…. Mark Knopfler, the virtuoso of Dire Straits fame, is about to mark the 30th anniversary of “Brothers In Arms” with the release of his latest album of new material. It’s called “Tracker”, as related in the Rolling Stone article interviewing him ahead of the new album’s release in a few days. They are allowing people to share it, so, here it is….. It is GRAND, to say the least….

***********************

Mark Knopfler: Tracker

***********************

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ1fPXv2cuEwRv6lCtWm2efm5LfuxkaOv

***********************

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent- it says so right here on the label. If you have a mind capable of believing all three of these divine attributes simultaneously, I have a wonderful bargain for you. No checks, please. Cash, and in small bills.” — Lazarus Long

From 8/15/2012:

“It is not the possessions but the desires of mankind which require to be equalized.” — Aristotle

Life is tough, but not as tough as it used to be. It’s been a long time since we humans had to actually go out and be responsible for our own survival, a pastime that, up until about 2500-3000 years ago, was pretty much a full time occupation for the majority of people. Very few folks back then could be spared to sit around doing nothing, using up resources that were acquired by the others of the group; everybody had to pull their own weight, or they starved…..

But once the species figured out farming, and how to produce food more efficiently than having to go out to find it, life got a lot easier, at least from a physical standpoint. Farming kept folks from needing to move around so much to look for food, so cities began to form, and civilization began to organize into its various strata….. beloved ruling class, priestly hierarchy class, warrior class, and, of course, the patsy class, also known as the worker bees, or peons, depending on one’s particular degree of sliminess….

To look at what Aristotle says above, one might think it speaks to the upper classes, suggesting that, perhaps, if they wanted less than they have, which is more than they need, then there might not be as many folks who want only enough to survive, but can’t find even that. It isn’t as if they don’t have enough…..However, thanks to the priestly hierarchies, who act as the protector of the ruling class, the less fortunate are lied to, and are told that THEY are being tested, and not to want more…. The priests have them all convinced that all they should want is just enough, in reward for which they will be compensated IN THE NEXT LIFE! It’s one of the most egregious scams that has ever been perpetrated on the masses, and continues today….

“Most of the dogmatic religions have exhibited a perverse talent for taking the wrong side on the most important concepts in the material universe, from the structure of the solar system to the origin of man.” — George Gaylord Simpson

The problem now becomes this; almost all the available resources of the planet are used up… only by drastically reducing the total number of people can the species continue to survive…. and, we all know who is going to get the short end of THAT stick, don’t we? Once people realize that the available resources needed for the species to survive are being hoarded and manipulated by the powers that be, all to favor themselves, the unwashed masses are going to be, shall we say, less than happy with the beloved ruling class, and even less happy with the priestly hierarchies who prop them up. It will be Mother Nature’s way of saying “you wouldn’t play nicely with others, and now you’ll have to pay the price for that failure….” Of course, she would probably make it sound less pompous than I do….

Being able to control one’s desires is a very valuable skill, and one worth learning, for certain. But when the desire is the simple desire to survive, it is not one that either can, or should, be eliminated…. For many centuries, the beloved ruling class and the priestly hierarchies who are in league with them have been lying to the general populace for their own benefit; history, even when written by the winners, makes that very clear.

“History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.” — Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)

Soon, they will have to come to terms with that treachery, as the planet’s resources, and its ability to support our form of life, are reduced to where we can no longer grow enough food, or breathe the air due to the addition of carbon monoxide…. When the general public realizes that the PTB are the assholes who have put us in this position, I don’t think they are going to be very happy about it…. and my only hope is that they don’t take so long to come to that conclusion that it is too late to make the needed changes…. which is a distinct possibility…. Small hopes are better than none…..

“Jesus is coming, everyone look busy.” — Bumper Sticker

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s been a long while since I posted this poem; it’s always been one of my favorites, as has the poet himself….. Enjoy, ffolkes, this is humanity at its best…. Well, in the twentieth century, anyway….

À Bas Ben Adhem

My fellow man I do not care for.
I often ask me, What’s he there for?
The only answer I can find
Is, Reproduction of his kind.
If I’m supposed to swallow that,
Winnetka is my habitat.
Isn’t it time to carve Hic Jacet
Above that Reproduction racket?

To make the matter more succinct:
Suppose my fellow man extinct.
Why, who would not approve the plan
Save possibly my fellow man?
Yet with a politician’s voice
He names himself as Nature’s choice.

The finest of the human race
Are bad in figure, worse in face.
Yet just because they have two legs
And come from storks instead of eggs
They count the spacious firmament
As something to be charged and sent.

Though man created cross-town traffic,
The Daily Mirror, News and Graphic,
The pastoral fight and fighting pastor,
And Queen Marie and Lady Astor,
He hails himself with drum and fife
And bullies lower forms of life.

Not that I think much depends
On how we treat our feathered friends,
Or hold the wrinkled elephant
A nobler creature than my aunt.
It’s simply that I’m sure I can
Get on without my fellow man.

~~ Ogden Nash ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I didn’t mention it above, but, I AM rather late getting this done, so, you get another fine archive entry in lieu of a fresh pearl…. deal with it. And save the complaints; the judge isn’t listening….

From 10/1/2011:

Well, that took for-frigging-ever….I can’t remember the last time I had such a frustrating dive. But, then, since Murphy seems to live in my pocket, I should have known; I have lots to do today, & didn’t intend to spend so much time on the process of picking out today’s offerings. I was forced to make three separate dives, each one more barren than the one before. If I was doing this for pay, I’d have to dock myself. Ah well, s’okay, I’ll just pull out the old rescheduling software, as issued to me at retirement; all will be well.

Five minutes later, he came to his senses, after fixedly staring off into the distance, with that vacuous expression that tells you, for sure, something shiny has caught his meager attention. It was nothing, really, just another of those little trips to the edge of the universe and back to which I am prone, particularly when pressed for time. But, it has left me again without inspiration, and, it is too early to apply perspiration to the problem; I haven’t eaten yet. Poetry is out of the question, & it’s way too early for a conversation with James or John. I’ll have to resort to flaming bonhomie, then, hope for the best. Remember, ffolkes, it’s all in the timing, and the little twist of the wrist at the end…..

“Nobody ever complains that you are treating them like a child when you listen to their stories, encourage their dreams, and tell them how special they are.” — Callan Williams

“I bid him look into the lives of men as though into a mirror, and from others to take an example for himself.” — Terence (185-159 BC) — Adelphoe, Act iii, Sc. 3, 61, (415.)

His head,
Not yet by time completely silver’d o’er,
Bespoke him past the bounds of freakish youth,
But strong for service still, and unimpair’d.

~~ William Cowper (1731-1800) ~~

~~ The Task, Book ii, The Timepiece, Line 702 ~~

“AAAEEEYYYAAAAAEEEEEYAAAAAA” — Johnny Weissmuller (And he means that literally…..)

One spring morning Descartes was strolling in a suburb of Paris. A local tavern owner recognized him and asked, “Would you honor me by tasting the new excellent wine I just received.” “I think not,” said Descartes, and disappeared.” — Smart Bee

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal Name.

~~ Lao-Tzu ~~

~~ Opening lines, Tao Teh Ching

Sometimes, I amaze even myself. All in all, it came out splendidly, I think. Now I can get busy with a clear mind….y’all take care out there…..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rather than make any egregiously idiotic comments here, I’ll use this sterling opportunity to rest on my laurels, withered though they may be….. I will also stop any further harassment for today, leaving you, not in the lurch, but, rather, in the nick of time…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

gigoid

Ned Moore, aka gigoid, is a 70 year-old, (!!!… When did that happen?….), retired dilettante, who would rather read than eat, most days. His first blog, "gigoid’s folly", has been emailed out to folks he knows for about 18 years now. He still considers it his best defense against angst, and the ever-present specter of sheer insanity..... Due to rigorous curmudgeon training requirements, he has discontinued his Facebook presence, but still indulges in the occasional Twitter session... In essence, he's socialized, but, not overly sociable; all labels and stereotypes are forbidden in his presence... and he doesn't care what anyone thinks about that..... In fact, he doesn't want to talk anymore.... If you feel you MUST contact gigoid, his email address is: alphagigoid@gmail.com You can go read now.... Go on, beat it.... gigoid, the dubious

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Bowled over by a Boston Brahmin….

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